Pro v2.6.1 with significantly decreased loadtimes for OpenStreetMap-based maps is available

Published on 29. November 2015

Although we tested v2.6 intensively, some user reported issues immediately after the release last weekend. This was quite frustrating for us in the beginning as we aim to deliver a high quality premium mapping plugin. Anyway after intensive research we found that the main issue was caused by other plugins also loading the Google Maps API which resulted in problems on layer maps.

When searching for a fix, we discovered a great optimization as a sideeffect which will significantly decrease the loadtime of your OpenStreetMap based maps – saving your visitors up to 370kb on each page view with an embedded OpenStreetMap based map.

We hope that this optimization will compensate you for any issues you may have experienced with v2.6 🙂 An update to the latest version is – as always – highly recommended.

Let us know what you think about this new release by submitting a review or leaving a comment below!

If you want to keep up to date with the latest Maps Marker Pro development, please follow @MapsMarker on twitter (= most current updates), on Facebook, Google+ or subscribe to news via RSS or via RSS/email.

significantly decreased loadtimes for OpenStreetMap-based maps

If you are using OpenStreetMap or other non-Google-based basemaps for your maps, your maps will now load much faster with v2.6.1. This is achieved by conditional & deferred Google Maps API loading.

This means that the Google Maps API scripts are only loaded if either Google Maps is used as basemap your map or if you switch to a Google basemap in the layer controlbox.

This new loading approach saves your visitors up to ~370kb uncompressed data transmission for each page view with an embedded OpenStreetMap based or other non-Google based basemap. Depending on the internet connection speed of your visitors, this may decrease the loadtime of your page by up to 5 seconds (assumption: ADSL user with 512kbit/s bandwidth, source: http://www.download-time.com/)

This optimization is enabled by default – you just have to upgrade to v2.6.1 to take advantage of this optimization.

Other changes and optimizations

URL hashes introduced with v2.6 are now disabled by default for new updates

Please note that translators are also compensated for their contribution – for example if a translation is finished less than 50%, the translator receives a free 25 licenses pack worth €149 as a compensation for completing the translation to 100%.

Outlook – plans for the next releases

Please understand that we am not being able to promise any release dates for new features. The roadmap for major new features gives you an idea where Maps Marker Pro is heading – anyway we just would want to keep the flexibility to add optimizations and bugfixes with rather unplanned minor releases resulting mostly from users feedback.

Please subscribe to this blog (via RSS or Email) or follow @MapsMarker on twitter (= most current updates) if you want to stay up to date with the latest development news.

How to download / update

The easiest way to update is to use the WordPress update process: login with an user who has admin privileges, navigate to Dashboard / Updates, select plugins to update and press the button “Update Plugins”. The pro plugin checks every 12 hours if a new version is available. You can also manually trigger the update check by going to Plugins and clicking on the link “Manually check for updates” next to “Maps Marker Pro”:

If you do not see the link “Check for updates” and are using a version below 1.7, please update manually once by downloading the current package from https://www.mapsmarker.com/download-pro and overwritting the existing plugin files on your server via FTP. This might be needed on several hosts, which use outdated SSL libraries, which prevent Maps Marker Pro from making a secure connection to retrieve the update package from mapsmarker.com. Pro v1.7 includes a workaround for those kind of servers and the following updates should work again as usual. If you are affected and need help, please open a support ticket.

Share your favorite spots and tracks with Maps Marker Pro, the most comprehensive geo-content management system for WordPress with a moral code. We never store your geolocation data and keep up with latest security standards. Start plotting right away and customize a multitude of features as you go. Happy mapping!